OCEAN CITY — While there were still significant hassles at times, the pop-up car rally weekend last week was decidedly tamer then recent years and the statistics bear it out.
The Town of Ocean City was bracing for another major unsanctioned pop-up car rally last weekend and officials said going in they were more prepared then ever. As it turns out, far fewer of the often-reckless participants came to the resort last weekend. Whether the ramped-up enforcement efforts over the last couple of years, including a strong police presence, a beefed-up towing ordinance, and the special event zone with enhanced fines and penalties, has caused a drop-off in participants in the often-rowdy weekend is uncertain, but last weekend was clearly far quieter than recent years.
Statistically, a breakdown prepared by Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Crime Analyst Brandon Reim this week shows the number of calls for service, traffic stops, citations issued, arrests, tows and other major categories all declined sharply from 2020. The drop-offs were even more pronounced then the statistics from 2019, which showed a peak in most categories over the last five years.
Anecdotally, it was decidedly quieter last weekend in and around the resort during the unsanctioned pop-up rally than in previous years. Although there were plenty of arrests made, there weren’t any of the significant serious crimes seen in years past, such as assaults on police officers, for example.
So, the question remains is Ocean City slowly winning a war of attrition with the unsanctioned pop-up rally with the many measures put in place in recent years, or was the 2021 event just an aberration and the pop-up rally will return in force in late September next year, or perhaps on a different weekend? Despite the apparent successes, resort officials have vowed to stay the course and not let their guard down going forward.
City Council President Matt James said this week it appears the many measures put in place in recent years for motorized special events in general, and the pop-up rally specifically, appear to be starting to pay dividends.
“I think that the strategies implemented last year really did help achieve the desired results,” he said. “The OCPD and its allied agencies did a great job with enforcement.”
For his part, OCPD Chief Ross Buzzuro said the entire enforcement package, from the efforts of his department and its allied law enforcement agencies, which sent hundreds of police officers to the resort area, to the special event zone and its enhanced penalties, and the beefed-up towing ordinance to the private-sector partnerships, all helped make last weekend’s event less raucous and dangerous.
“This year, the combined measures of the Ocean City community and our allied agencies resulted in a significant decrease from last year’s event,” he said. “While we experienced isolated incidents, the event overall was much different than years past.”
Buzzuro praised his charges and the many partners from allied agencies for their efforts in making last weekend tamer than in years past.
“I am humbled and proud of the dedication of our Ocean City police officers, dispatchers, public safety personnel, and the hundreds of men and women from allied agencies who worked tirelessly to protect and serve our community this weekend.”
Buzzuro’s assessment of last weekend is consistent with other resort officials. Ocean City Communications and Marketing Director Jessica Waters, who, with her team, led the public outreach efforts leading up to and during the pop-up event, agreed the many measures implemented in recent years led to a more palatable weekend for residents and visitors.
“Overall, we were pleased with the weekend,” she said. “Our statistics were significantly down, which is a positive indicator that our messaging and enforcement efforts worked to deter the behavior we have seen in previous years. Our goal all along has been to gain compliance and stop some of the reckless activity that was taking place on the roadways and parking lots. The commitment by the OCPD, along with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Ocean City community and the state of Maryland was evident in the planning and execution of the event. We faced significant challenges with this event, however, it is my belief that the team effort of all involved is why we saw improvements this year.”
The town and its partners will continue to implement enforcement measures and look for more deterrents in future years, according to James.
“I don’t think we should let our guard down and I know we won’t,” he said. “We have to stay the course, but it looks like what we’re doing is working. It was otherwise a beautiful weekend.”
In terms of the raw statistics, the total number of calls for service last weekend was 1,807, including 1,528 officer-initiated calls for service and 279 citizen calls for service, representing a 36% decrease from the 2,802 total calls for service in 2020. The peak number of calls for service over the last five years of the event was in 2019, when 2,933 calls for service were recorded.
The total number of traffic stops recorded during last weekend’s event was 986, down 19% from the 1,218 recorded during the 2020 event. In 2019, there were 1,230 traffic stops. Traffic citations issued last weekend totaled 828, down from the 1,498 issued in 2020 and 1,614 in 2019. The decrease in citations issued from 2020 to 2021 was 45%.
Total traffic enforcement went from 1,508 in 2020 to 834 this year, representing a 47% decline. One of the biggest drop-off percentage-wise from 2020 to 2021 was the number of tows. Last year, the first year of the enhanced towing ordinance, there were 368 tows, compared to just 101 last weekend, representing a decrease of 73%. Exhibition driving charges, a enhancement to the special event zone passed by the state legislature last year, also dropped significantly. Last year during the unsanctioned event, there were 123 exhibition driving arrests, compared to 53 last weekend, representing a 57% decrease.
Total arrests dropped from 277 last year to 134 this year, representing a 52% decline. Drug arrests last weekend declined by 80% compared to the same weekend in the prior year, while weapons arrests declined by 47%. The only category that went up last weekend compared to the prior year was DUI arrests, which increased from six in 2020 to 11 last weekend, representing an 83% increase, although the sample size is relatively small.
